Ryan Murphy says the Menendez brothers should "send him flowers" for Monsters

8 October 2024, 11:27

By Sam Prance

Erik Menendez previously released a statement slamming Ryan Murphy for his depiction of Erik and Lyle in Monsters.

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Ryan Murphy has responded to Erik Menendez's criticism of Monsters and argued that the Menendez brothers should be grateful to him. He's also questioned whether or not Lyle and Erik Menendez were really victims of parental abuse.

As soon as Monsters debuted on Netflix, the series sparked controversy over its depiction of Lyle and Erik Menendez. While people praised the performances of actors Nicholas Alexander Chavez and Cooper Koch, they also called out creator Ryan Murphy for taking liberties with the truth and playing into claims that Lyle and Erik were incestuous.

When the TV show came out, Erik released a statement condemning Ryan and Netflix. He wrote: "I believed we had moved beyond the lies and ruinous character portrayals of Lyle, creating a caricature of Lyle rooted in horrible and blatant lies rampant in the show. I can only believe they were done so on purpose."

Now, Ryan has addressed Erik's statement and suggested that the Menendez brothers should send him "flowers".

Watch The Menendez Brothers documentary trailer

Talking to The Hollywood Reporter, Ryan said: "I’ll tell you my thoughts about the Menendez brothers. The Menendez brothers should be sending me flowers. They haven’t had so much attention in 30 years. And it’s gotten the attention of not only this country, but all over the world. There’s sort of an outpouring of interest in their lives and in the case.”

He continued: “I know for a fact that many people have offered to help them, because of the interest of my show and what we did. There is no world that we live in where the Menendez brothers or their wives or lawyers would say, ‘You know what, that was a wonderful, accurate depiction of our clients.’ That was never going to happen."

Criticising Erik and Lyle specifically, Ryan added: "We had an obligation to so many people, not just to Erik and Lyle. But that’s what I find so fascinating; that they’re playing the victim card right now - “poor, pitiful us” - which I find reprehensible and disgusting."

Ryan's quote have been met with backlash online with people criticising him for not being sensitive to what the brothers experienced.

One person tweeted: "imagine making two severely traumatized and horridly abused children into monsters."

Another wrote: "profiting from the trauma of others and then expecting a thank you? he can’t be for real."

Erike Menendez and Lyle Menendez. Picture: Getty

As for if Ryan plans to watch Netflix's new documentary The Menendez Brothers, he said: "I’m not going to watch it, because I’m not interested in anything else about the Menendez brothers. I don’t want to watch the documentary. I have no interest in meeting them. I have no interest in talking to their lawyers or their wives."

Reflecting on the Menendez brothers' abuse claims, Ryan added: "We will never know if they told the truth, we will never know if they were sexually abused for sure. We will never know if the parents were the monsters."